Sheet registering apparatus



June 16, 1953 H. T. BACKHOUSE SHEET REGISTERING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 9, 1949 ll 0. Q

J1me 1953 H. 1'. BACKHOUSE I 2,642,284

' SIEETREGISTERING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet? Filed NOV. 9, 1949 Patented June 16; 1953 UNITED STA PATENT,

oFFice sfiEErnEGrs'rEmNG APPARATUS Headley Townsend Backhouse, Sunningdale, England I Application November .9, 1949, Serial No. 126,268 .v ln GreatBritain November 12,, 1948 1 a. a. The invention relatesto sheet registering paratusof the kind which may constitute part of a printing machine or part of a machine for sepa rating sheets from a pile and which embodies a. lay-board or front plate on to which sheets of .paper card or the like are fed in a continuousstreain of partly overlapping sheets, and means for engaging the front edge-and,'it may be, also the side edge, of .each sheet in turn, to effect registration thereof and from which board or plate the'sheets are transferred individually after registration to a printing or'other'machine operating onrsingle sheets.

It is desirable in apparatus of the'above kind, and with a view to reducing the interval between: the removal of successive sheets with, in the case of a rotary printing machine, a. corresponding reduction in the ineffective parts of: the circumference of the cylinder towhich the sheets are transferred, to efiect the registration -'ofeach sheet during the removal of the preceding sheet l 'feeler, movable with the device,

non-arrival or late arrival of a sheet at the device v In the preferred arrangement oflthe "present invention thev sc'raper'device also constitutes a front lay." )7, j; 1 The 'feeler may be arranged for movement relaf, tive to the body of the scraper device by a sheet arriving at the correct time and the apparatus may include a sensing member for determining whether the feeler. has been moved as aforesaid and if it has 'n'ot'for' stopping the apparatus or.

- operating the warning device,

'I he scraper device. itself may constitute the front layer the feelermay constitute the, gauge; face or part of the-gauge face of the frontlay. scraper device and bemovable by the front edge I of a properly presented sheet uptoa stop on the Y device which. determinesthe lay position of the face.

Qne specific. construction of sheet registering apparatus according j to the invention and incorporatedin a sheet "feeding machine embody-f ing the features of the machine described in my My. prior United States applications Nos. 62,249.

and 62,251, both filed November 26, 1948, application Serial No. 62,249 having issued as U. S. Patent 7 Serial- No; 2,605,103, and application Ser. No. 62,251. h"aving been abandoned, I'have described a scraper device constituting simple means ',-for

engaging the leading edgej-of each sheet as"it approaches the registeringposition and to sepia rate that edge from the overlying sheet being removed. It is an object of the-present invention to improve the scraper device described in the above-mentioned prior specifications. With .the above object in view the invention provides sheet registering apparatusof the kind described above which has a scraper. device arranged to move United Statesapplication Ser. No. 62,251, filed November26, 1948,- applicationserial No. 62,249

. having 'issuedas'UfS. Patent ,Seria1No.2,605,103,

and} applicationYSerI No. 62,251 having been abandoned, will nowibe described by way of ex ample and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- v

Figure 1 is va perspective diagrammatic viewv of the feeding machine and also. shows parts'ofjan associated sheet separator and ofv a printing aschine. I s a I Figure .2 is a side view of th'e'japparatus; Figure 3 is a viewin the direction III-III in Figure 2,..

Figure 4 is a rear view. of theapparatus. Figure 5 is a plan of the apparatus, Figure 6 is under plan of the apparatus and Figure 7 is a section-on the line VlIVII;-in Figuree. l I l The apparatus embodies a lay-board'fi onto which thesheetsl are fed, by tapes I driven from roller 2, as a continuous streamof partly over; lapped sheets and from' which the sheets are taken individually, after front and side registra tion, by swinging grippers 12 by which they are transferred to grippers on the drum l3 of a printing'machine. Spaced apart alongthe front edge of the lay-board there are a number of angular scraper devices I. Each of these devicesconsists of a member having two arms Ha, Hb, at

v right angles and each device is attached at the end of the arm .I la (later referred tovas the gauge arm) to a shaft l0 supported for oscillation remaining" the i chine by any suitable means.

a direction against the movement of the sheets and being so timed that the free end of. the scraper arm scrapes the underside ofthe sheet of the sheet is effected against front lays and The present invention may also be applied to the printing machine described in my United States application Ser. No. 62,649, filed November 26, 1948.

Iclaim:

In a sheet feeding machine of the kind in which a succession of partly overlapped sheets arefedby conveyor means and as a continuous stream onto a layboard to-a position where each sheet in turn is brought to rest and registration .fromwhich. board the sheet is then removed being removed as the next sheet approaches the;

register position (see Figure 2). sition (Figure '7) the scraper arm liesparallel to the upper surface of the lay-boardiandfservr-Ls as asmoother for the front edge of' the sheet.

In this example two of the scraper devices are: provided with feelers, the two devices so provided being positioned, adjacent opposite sides of the; lay-board. Each feeler is constituted by a lever.

30 approximately parallel tothe gaueeiarm and pivoted about the shaft msupporting thesc aperdevice and having its free end received within a hole35 in the scraperarm of the devicelfw-hich limitsthe movement of the lever. A. light spring 36 tends to move the. lever away-from the gauge arm inthe direction. tomeetthe front edgeo'f an. oncoming sheet (i. .e.. in. the clockwisadirection as. viewed'in Figure 1).. The lever has a. hooklike tail 3! arranged, to. make, interlockingem gagementwith a. hook 32 on a. sensingarm. when thelever has; not been-,moved .byash'eet- (i. e. when the lever is in the enhanc ments in Figure .7) and'th'reby' to v i event movement of thesensing armwhich is; arranged thereupon to cause operation of a warning devic'eor stoppage of the apparatus. The sensing arm is carriedLon a second shaft ll mountedbelow thelay-board and parallel to them-st mentioneclshaft l, 1.. Thissecond shaft is arranged for, oscillation. in sush timed relationship with the. feeding of. the sheets thatthe sensing arm'33 makes a, downward stroke immediately after the time. at. which a sheet shouldlmalre. contact with andmove the. feelers Thus, if the feeler has been somovedthe arm. is freed. and able to. make itsdownward, stroke whereas if the feeler has not been moved the hook on the tail 3i of the lever engages the hook '32 on the. arm and prevents such movement of the sensing arm. The shaftqil carrying thesensihg arms is'oscillated in timed'relation with thema It is to be appreciated that the feelers move with the scraper devicesduring the oscillation of 'the devices.

The scraper devices may constitute thBi SUlB. registering means for the sheets or additional register stops'may'be incorporated in the swing-- ing grippers. p I

The apparatus forming the, subjectofthe above exampleincludes air nozzles 20 and means for supplying air to the nozzles,

while the underlying sheet is approaching the registering position; the combination of a scraper Ids-vice arranged to operate below each sheet as it is removed from the lay board to scrape the lowef'face of the sheet, to engage the leading edge'of a succeeding sheet as it approaches the lays 'to separate that edge from the sheet being removed, which scraper device consists of a memher having two arms at an angle and pivotally supported about the free end of one of the arms. below'the layboard for, oscillation about, aniaxis parallel to the leading edge .of the sheet torbe-z engaged from a position in which the other arm: (later referred to as the scraper arm)-extends; upwardly towardsthe underside of, the sheetv being removed toa position in which the scraper arm lies aboveand substantially parallel toxthe. front edge portion: of the succeeding sheet, the movement of. the device as: aforesaid beingJin a. direction against the movement of the. sheets" and being followed by a return movement to the initial position, means for oscillating. thescraper device as aforesaid and in such timed relation with the feeding of the sheets that the freeend of. the scraper arm scrapes theundersid'e of the sheet being removed as thenext sheet approaches the lays and the scraper arm reaches the limit of its movement just before the sheet reachesthe lays, a feeler which is incorporated in and movable with the scraper device and which is also movable relative to the scraper device by a sheet arriving at the correct timeyand a movable 1 sensing member for determining whether the feeler has been moved as aforesaid and if it has not for stopping the machine or operating a" warning-device. i t V HEADLEY TOWNSENDVBACKHQU'SE. References Cited in the file of this patent UNrrEn STATES PATENTS Number Date Name 2,221,500 Upham Nov. 12, 1940" 2,231,914 Huck Feb-18,1941 2,286,032 Eckhard. June 9, 1942; 2,317,993 Harrold May 4, 1943' 2,433,120 Harrold Dec. 23, 1947 

